Finding Pockets of Time You Never Knew You Had

Posted by Melinda Sims
on July 01, 2019

We’ve heard it before: “Beyonće has the same 24 hours in a day that you do.” While this well-intentioned statement was meant to motivate us to fervently pursue our dreams, it leaves out two very important facts:

Most of us do not have a Beyonće team. And, I think I speak for everyone when I say, we absolutely do not have Beyonće money to hire said team. So, thanks to whomever tried to motivate us but it’s not entirely realistic.

If you have followed my personal Instagram account, you might have seen that I had my two nephews for the past week and a half. It was an absolute blast! I acted on June's tips of active listening and engaged presence, and (theoretically) stepped away from work. It was beautiful seeing life through their curious eyes. But, it was also a lot to manage. Trying to maintain healthy eating (does organic pizza count?), keeping them active, limiting electronic time, nurturing them, playing with them, integrating my gym time, and tending to one child who fell victim to a stomach bug, the day flew past me as did my energy levels. But wait, I still had a whole husband to engage, a business to run, a house to maintain, and a dog to keep alive.

While this past week and a half was full of beautiful memories, my life pre-kids also required severe juggling as summers are heavy travel seasons for me. The beauty is that deadlines were still met despite the fires that needed to be put out, I fulfilled commitments I made to others, and had family and friend time.

So, if you find yourself trying to live a Beyonće life without a team or the funds. Here are a few suggestions to squeeze in your productive time:

Airports

This month has been full of business travel paired with friend time. I had the pleasure of representing The Pinnacle Planner at the American Express Summit for Success event in Washington, D.C. and experienced nostalgia being in my old stomping grounds. In typical D.C. fashion, I knew I’d have to hit the ground running as soon as I touched down so I used my time at the airport to plan my life and upcoming projects. Thanks to my wonderful husband, I’m learning to cherish getting to the airport much earlier--like with 2hrs to spare earlier--and boy has it made a difference. Don’t underestimate the time spent in airports. I prefer keep the manager time projects for when I am sitting at the gate since I prefer to sleep on the plane. If you’re not a plane-sleeper, then work on the plane works just as well.

Ubers

By a show of hands, how many of you welcome whole conversations with your Uber driver? It’s ok to admit to wanting a taaaad bit of quiet time as you’re taken to your destination. If you’re like me, then Ubers can be a good time for quick phone calls to check on that one person you committed to checking up on, run through one of the sections of the planner like the Monthly Prep Check List, or to catch up on the resource(s) listed in your Read section. If none of these sound appealing, email organization works, too.

Post-Office Lines (or Lines in General)

Lines are my favorite place to think about the follow-up tasks listed in my planner. Since I have no control over how long any one person’s transaction will take, it is a good use of my time as I’m standing there with packages. The tasks listed in my Follow-Up section might include sending a text message, email, or logging into a portal to check the status of something. While Post-Offices tend to be a trigger space for me to think through my follow-up items, these lines can be anywhere: as you wait to order food, the DMV, grocery shopping, coffeeshops, etc. Whatever your task includes, lines are a great time to either think about it or act on checking it off.

Bathrooms

Last but certainly not least, bathrooms are the holy haven for a moment to yourself. This is the perfect time for mindful meditation, a few breathers, or even a few expletives depending on how your day is going. I like to reflect on my Monthly Promise space. I meditate on it and spend time reflecting on it to empower myself to face what I need to face after a fresh pair of washed hands. Whichever direction the day is pulling you, protect this space. No work is allowed here.

While we might not have a Beyonće team or funds for that team, we do have the ability to maximize small moments of time that are gifted to us. Yes, we might want to simply sleep or stare at a wall during some of those moments but sometimes that isn’t an option. Since we are 100% responsible for how we use one of our greatest gifts, the above examples are just a peak into how to maximize sections in the Pinnacle Planner to increase your productivity and personal growth. Do you have other moments that you try to utilize? Share them in the comment section below!